Dental instrument.



W. E. WILSON.

DENTAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION man MAY 24. I916.

Patented Dec. 26,1916- ITE STTg WILLIAM E. WILSON, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

- DENTAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed May 24, 1916. Serial No. 99,527.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. WILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Diego, in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dental Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in dental instruments in which there is provided a means for receiving and holding parts of tools intended to be used in various dental operations, and more particularly to the form of instrument intended for holding small brushes, or pieces of wood or other material for use in cleaning and polishing the teeth, and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a tool of the kind that is so constructed that parts of tools to be held, of various sizes, can be used without reducing the parts to be inserted into the holder, to any particular thiclmess; second, that will retain a firm hold on the tool by friction; third, that will only permit the tool being held to be inserted to a certain depth in the holder, and fourth, that is simple and economical of construction. I attain these objects by the instrument illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dental instrument provided with my improved tool holders; Fig. 2 is an enlarged, perspective view of my improved holder, and Fig. 3, is a sectional View taken through line A-B in Fig. 2.

Similar characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, a represents a dental tool handle provided with tool holders 6 and 0, each of which is provided with a socket d. The holders 6 and 0, are made of steel or other resilient material. The socket d is provided with a chamber e adapted to receive the base of the tool 9. The wall of the chamber 6 tapers from the extended end toward its base and is provided at its base with a shoulder it which prevents the end of the tool 9 from passingby it. The wall of the socket (Z is cut through forming a slot 70, which permits the wall to spring outwardly when the base of the tool 9 is forced into it, and by reason of the resiliency of the material of the socket (Z the tool 9 will be firmly held therein.

The tool holders Z) and c are each provided with threaded bases at adapted to be screwed into threaded receptacles in the tool a. In dental tools of this kind now in general use the socket portions have solid walls and in case the bases of the tools 9, or other articles to be inserted therein, are not uniform in thickness much inconvenience results by having to dress down the base of the article to be inserted, while in my construction the thickness of the said bases may vary considerably and still be used in the elastic socket which I have provided, and by means of the shoulder h the base of the tool 9 cannot pass through the socket (Z beyond said shoulder.

Having described my invention, what I claim is A dental instrument for the purpose described, comprising a handle member and a resilient metal holder member provided at one end with a threaded portion adapted to be screwed into a threaded recess in said handle member and at the other end with a holder portion having a longitudinal recess therein which narrows toward the shaft of said holder member and is adapted to receive and hold various articles, the wall of said recess being split horizontally into said recess and provided with a projection near the base of said recess which projects into said recess and is adapted to prevent the article inserted therein from passing by said projection.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM E. WILSON.

Witnesses:

O. E. MARK, MINNIE Konrn.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G, 

